Fall 2011 Graduates List

The WKU Fall 2011 Graduates List is available online.

WKU Engineering’s 12th annual LEGO robotics competition Feb. 25

WKU Engineering faculty and staff, with support from the Tau Beta Pi student Engineering Honors Society, will conduct the 12th annual Kentucky Bluegrass LEGO Robotics Competition on Feb. 25 at Drakes Creek Middle School.

For the 2012 competition, elementary and middle school teams must build autonomous robots from LEGO Mindstorm kits to navigate a curving track modeled after the Beech Bend amusement park, and a straight drag race track as quickly and accurately as possible.

Teams will compete in either the “Engineer-in-Training” division for Elementary School teams, or the “Professional Engineers” division for Middle School and more experienced teams.

The competition will start at 9 a.m.; the public is welcome.

Contact: Kevin Schmaltz, kevin.schmaltz@wku.edu.

$100 Solution program at WKU setting out to complete its 100th project

With less than three years on the campus of WKU, The $100 Solution™ program sets out to complete its 100^th project involving the partnership of students with the local and international community.

The $100 Solution™ offers campus and community members an opportunity to use a small amount of money to make a lasting and sustainable difference.  Based on the idea that small changes have a big impact, The $100 Solution™ challenges students to ask the community to identify a problem, and then create a solution using no more than $100.

“We expect to have close to 50 $100 Solution projects this spring,” said Nadia DeLeon, Community Engagement Coordinator for the WKU ALIVE Center for Community Partnerships.

During the second week of the spring semester, DeLeon and her service-learning graduate assistants started attending classes in order to train students to develop and implement $100 Solution™ projects as a service-learning tool for courses.

The WKU ALIVE Center is planning a Steps to a $100 Solution workshop on Feb. 16 at the Downing University Center. Above: At a previous workshop, the ALIVE Center’s Brittany Ryan talked to Bowling Green community member Marissa Butler about resources.

$100 Solution™ projects will take place in 13 classes this spring ranging from cultural diversity and group communication to gender and women’s studies and health administration. “One of the things we learned was that helping other people does not cost a lot of money. It takes passion, motivation, and team work to affect our communities,” a WKU student said in a reflection piece. The $100 Solution™ is based on the five principles of reciprocity, partnership, capacity building, sustainability and reflection.

Students, faculty, staff and community members interested in creating a $100 Solution™ project do not have to attend one of the classes in order to participate. The WKU ALIVE Center is coordinating a Steps to a $100 Solution™ workshop on Feb. 16 that will guide individuals through the process. Anyone interested can come by the WKU Downing University Center between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. It takes at least 30 minutes to go through the eight stations that prepare participants for a project.

The $100 Solution is an international program created by Professor Bernie Strenecky in 2005. To learn more about The $100 Solution™ at WKU or to donate $100 to sponsor a project, contact the ALIVE Center at (270) 782-0082 or visit www.wku.edu/alive. 

Contact: Aurelia Spaulding, (270) 782-0082.

‘Are You ALIVE?’ week Feb. 13-17

Alive. It is a simple word. It means to be full of energy or to be vibrant and full of life. Everyone has something different that makes them come alive. Mahatma Gandhi said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” This quote is the spirit behind the new movement Are You ALIVE?, sponsored by the WKU ALIVE Center for Community Partnerships.

The ALIVE Center will be hosting an awareness week on Feb. 13-17 with a variety of activities to promote this new campaign. The Random Acts of Service project will engage students in a volunteer activity that will benefit community organization. Students will be asked to create videos to explain how they will become more alive. The ALIVE Center staff will work with students to identify their service interests that will help make students stay alive all year. The week will be packed full of information and activities that will get students’ minds pumping as to how they will make this year more meaningful than the year before.

“Volunteering is my opportunity to connect and give back to the community,” said Caroline Culbreth, a WKU student majoring in international affairs from Park Hills. Culbreth volunteers with Spanish speaking community members, specifically working with the youth in the ESL program.

The Center wants many students to have this same feeling. Every student has something different to offer and those talents should be used to help better the community.  Are you ALIVE? is a movement sparking interest in public service; it is a movement about becoming more aware of the needs in the community. It is about letting ourselves become more alive.

For a full listing of activities for Are You ALIVE? awareness week, visit www.wku.edu/alive or contact the Center at (270) 782-0082.

Contact: Leah Baird or Aurelia Spaulding, (270) 782-0082.

Forensic team members qualify for national tournament

WKU forensic team members traveled to Murray to take part in two tournaments hosted by Murray State University the weekend of Feb. 4-5.

WKU team members gained six tournament championships over the weekend and received second place in overall team sweepstakes at the Alumni tournament. WKU also qualified a significant number of students for the national tournament in April. Other schools competing over the weekend included Bradley University, Illinois State University, Tennessee State University, North Central College and Belmont University.

Next weekend the team will split to compete in the following three locations: Norman, Okla.; Boston, Mass.; and Los Angeles, Calif.

Grand opening Feb. 24 for Richardson Quilt Gallery at Kentucky Museum

The Kentucky Museum will celebrate the grand opening for the Richardson Quilt Gallery, WKU’s latest permanent exhibition, on Feb. 24.

The Richardson Quilt Gallery will open with a ribbon cutting at 2 p.m. Feb. 24 at the Kentucky Museum.

The gallery will include two dozen quilts and historic textile samples collected by Elizabeth Richardson and donated by her daughter June McGuyer. “The acquisition of the Richardson Collection enhances the stature of the Museum as a leading Kentucky institution for the study of quilts and quilt making,” said Sandy Staebell, Museum Collections Curator.

Assembled over two decades, the Elizabeth Richardson Collection is a case study of American quilt collecting from the late 1930s through the late 1950s. In addition to the Richardson Collection, the gallery will feature 16 Star pattern quilts that were selected from other donors of the Kentucky Museum Quilt Collection. Dedicated to Richardson’s memory, this permanent gallery will offer a rotating selection of quilts and historic textiles.

Vicki Fitch, Executive Director for the Bowling Green Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, says there is a large following for the quilt industry. “Supporters will drive many miles to view a new collection of quilts. It’s their passion,” Fitch said. “We are very pleased that Bowling Green can now offer the Richardson Quilt Gallery as an attraction to the state.”

The grand opening will begin with a Chamber Ribbon Cutting at 2 p.m. Feb. 24. Anyone in the community is welcome to attend this event. For information about the quilt gallery, visit www.wku.edu/museum.

Contact: Jennifer Wilson, (270) 745-6977.

WKU’s Confucius Institute to host Chinese Spring Gala on Feb. 22

The Confucius Institute at WKU will be hosting a Chinese Spring Gala at 6 p.m. Feb. 22 in the auditorium of Downing University Center located on the WKU campus.

Hubei University's Dragon and Lion Dance Troupe will perform Feb. 22 during the Chinese Spring Gala hosted by WKU's Confucius Institute. The event begins at 6 p.m. at Downing University Center Auditorium.

The year 2012 is the Year of the Dragon by the Chinese calendar, and in honor of that fact, Hubei University’s Dragon and Lion Dance Troupe will be performing traditional dances and skits to bring in the New Year.

Established in 1931, Hubei University is located in Wuhan, the capital of central China’s Hubei Province. Over the past eight decades, Hubei University has grown to be a key comprehensive university with a student enrollment of more than 20,000. Areas of study include the arts, history, philosophy, science, engineering, economics, law, management, education and medicine. Hubei offers 61 undergraduate programs, 149 postgraduate programs, 34 doctoral programs and three post-doctoral research programs.  They value links with international institutions and have academic exchange and cooperative programs with more than 70 universities across the U.S., UK, Australia, France and Japan. Hubei University has also taken an active role in promoting the Chinese culture and language through the co-establishment of two Confucius Institutes.

The WKU-CI and Hanban, China’s Ministry of Education, work to promote understanding of the Chinese language and culture through children’s programming, training courses, cultural workshops and community events. Together, these organizations have Introduced fully articulated K-16 instruction in Modern Standard Chinese into local school systems, serve as a regional center for Chinese teacher training and Chinese curriculum development, and build connections and partnerships between Kentucky and China.

For information about the WKU-CI, visit www.wku.edu/ci or call (270) 745-2836.

Contact: Cheryl Kirby-Stokes, (270) 745-2836.

Ad+PR program launches Community Projects initiative to assist organizations

WKU’s Advertising and Public Relations (Ad+PR) program has announced a community outreach effort designed to provide students the opportunity to gain first-hand experience in the field, while giving back to the local community in a truly significant way.

Ad+PR Community Projects will become a support center for non-profit organizations within the 10-county Barren River Area Development District that require assistance with their advertising and public relations needs.

Beginning this month, students from a senior-level advertising capstone class will be working with BRIMS, the Barren River Imaginative Museum of Science, to design, produce and distribute an advertising and public relations campaign to create community awareness for the program and drive their development efforts. BRIMS’ has a rich history of igniting the minds of children about the power and the potential of science in today’s world, but of late is suffering from a lack of community awareness and declining donations.

April McCauley, who joined BRIMS last December as director, is now leading the members of the organization through strategic planning sessions. The students will work with McCauley and the BRIMS Board to conduct research leading to a complete rebranding plan to help bring BRIMS back to life.

Professor Cliff Shaluta, program coordinator for Ad+PR Community Projects, sees this as “an amazing opportunity for advertising and public relations students” to gain experience by applying their ideas and talents to real-world community problems.

“The most exciting part of this opportunity is that students from other advanced classes in print and interactive design will also add their talents to the BRIMS project, making this the ultimate collaborative experience,” Shaluta said. “Working together, students will help the museum return to its roots and continue to share the excitement of science for future generations in our area.”

“During a tour of our current facility, professor Shaluta and his students were delighted  – and I think surprised – with the discovery of science,” McCauley said. “What we’d like them to do is help us share that feeling with everyone.”

More online: WKU Ad+PR program and the Community Projects Initiative.

Contact: Cliff Shaluta, (270) 745-5833.

Community Religious Literacy Project to present ‘Journey of the Universe’

The Community Religious Literacy Project of WKU will present a screening of the documentary Journey of the Universe at 7 p.m. Feb. 17 at Mass Media and Technology Hall Auditorium.

The film will be followed by a discussion led by Dr. Bruce Schulte, head of WKU’s Department of Biology; Dr. Audrey Anton, assistant professor of Philosophy; Dr. Paul Fischer, assistant professor of Religious Studies; Jack Wright, Warren County Stormwater Management; and Christian-Ryan Downing, WKU sustainability coordinator; with closing remarks by Dr. Eric Bain-Selbo, head of WKU’s Department of Philosophy and Religion.

Margaret Bowker, recipient of the 2011 Dr. Dero Downing Environmental Stewardship Award, also will be recognized as part of the evening’s activities.

Co-sponsors of the event are Bowling Green Interfaith Coalition for Earth Care, WKU Political Engagement Project, WKU Institute of Citizenship and Social Responsibility, WKU Gender & Women’s Studies, and the departments of Agriculture, Biology, English, Geography & Geology, History, Physics & Astronomy and Philosophy & Religion.

The screening and panel discussion are open to the public, faculty, staff and students. Visitor parking will be available in the Chestnut Street South lot.

Contact: Bella Mukonyora, bella.mukonyora@wku.edu.

27 students participate in Winter Term course in Ecuador

For the 19th year, WKU’s Department of Agriculture sponsored a short-term study abroad course to Ecuador.

Participants in a WKU Winter Term course in Ecuador straddle the equator. Additional photos are posted on the WKU Facebook page at www.facebook.com/WKUNews

Twenty-seven WKU students participated in the Winter Term class led by Kristie Guffey from the WKU-Glasgow campus and Dr. David Coffey from WKU’s Bowling Green campus.

While the major emphasis of the course was on food production systems and issues, the group participated in visits historical and cultural sites including the gold-leafed sanctuaries inside the churches of Old Quito, took a tram ride to 13,000 feet, and experienced scientific experiments at the Middle of the World.

Food and development issues in the Lowlands and Coastal areas of Ecuador included visits to and consultation from experts in banana and plantain production, oil palm processing, bamboo production, pineapple exportation, chocolate production and shrimp production. Marketing systems, globalization, biodiversity and sustainability were unifying themes. Two other highlights included walking through a Tropical Rainforest near Santo Domingo and exploring the culture of the Sachilla Indian tribe.

The group’s service-learning project was a dental sealant project in elementary schools and orphanages. Under direction of Dr. Rankin Skinner, representing Kentucky-Ecuador Partners of the Americas, WKU students and faculty applied free dental varnish to the teeth of about 3,000 children and provided each child with a toothbrush.

Students participating in the 2012 Winter Term course included: Madison R. Beach, a junior Biology major from Lebabon; Erik P. Brown, a senior Agriculture major from Edmonton; Justin M. Coffey, a junior Pre-Vet major from McCreary County; Travis K. Combs, a freshman Agriculture major from Elkton; Devin N. Cornwell, a sophomore Middle Grades Mathematics major from Scottsville; Chesley M. Craine, a junior Communication Disorders major from Scottsville; Vidal Dias, a senior Geology major from Dallas; Kaelin Ditmore, a senior Agriculture major from Franklin; Cory L. Dodds, a junior Political Science major from Smithland; Jake D. Downey, a senior Management major from Nashville, Tenn.; Lucas A. Fykes, a junior Economics major from Scottsville; Jessica C. Hall, a junior Physics major from Marshall County; Blake A. Jackson, a junior Health major from Smiths Grove; Ashley M. King, a sophomore Psychology major from Lawrenceburg; Emily R. Lewis, a freshman Pre-Dentistry major from Carrollton; Kaitlin R. Masterson, a junior Biology major from Elizabethtown; Morgan M. Murrell, a sophomore Biology major from Glasgow; Alexandria L. Pennington, a senior Agriculture major from Glasgow; Abigail R. Potter, a freshman Exploratory/Undeclared major from Bowling Green; Jo Shackelford, a doctoral student in Educational Leadership from Lewisburg; Hannah M. Simmons, a sophomore Agriculture major from Glasgow; Lauran M. Thomas, a freshman Agriculture major from Sonora; Robert Thomas, a graduate student in Agriculture from Sonora; Justin G. Vaughn, a sophomore Agriculture major from Franklin; Ellen G. Vice, a freshman Biology major from Flemingsburg; Christy L. Violette, a junior Elementary Education major from Scottsville; and Cameron B. Yundt, a sophomore Agriculture major from Brandenburg.

The department’s 2013 Winter Term experience will focus on issues related to food production and sustainability in the Amazon and the Galapagos Islands.

More: Photos from the 2012 trip to Ecuador are posted on the WKU Facebook page.

Contact: David Coffey, david.coffey@wku.edu